I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to disposable absorbent articles and, in particular, to an improved mechanical fastening system for securing placement of the article on the body of the user.
II. Background Art
Infants and other incontinent individuals wear disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, to receive and contain urine and other body exudates. In order to secure placement of the absorbent article, various fastening systems have been employed for fastening the waistband portions of the disposable article around the waist of the wearer. Most conventional fastening systems include fastener tabs that are attached to the rear waistband portion of the disposable article. As the disposable article is placed on the user's body, the rear waistband portion is caused to overlap the front waistband portion such that the fastener tabs can be releasably secured thereto.
As is known, a majority of commercially-available disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers and incontinent briefs, employ an adhesive fastening system in which adhesive tabs on the rear waistband portion are stuck onto the front waistband portion, thereby closing the diaper. During normal use, however, it is common for the adhesive tabs to be repeatedly reopened and subsequently reclosed to check the soiled condition of the diaper. Thus, failure of the diaper may result if the adhesive bond is weakened due to contamination. Unfortunately, the likelihood of contamination occurring as a result of using substances (i.e., talc powder, baby oil, ointments and the like) to assist in making the wearer more comfortable is fairly common. Yet another problem associated with adhesive fastening systems is that a misapplication of the adhesive tab onto the backing surface of the diaper's front waistband portion may cause a tear in the backing surface, with a portion of the backing surface remaining attached to the adhesive tab, thereby precluding reattachment of the adhesive tab to the diaper.
As an alternative to adhesive fastening systems, it is becoming increasingly more common to employ a mechanical fastening system in disposable articles. For example, hook and loop fastening systems, utilizing fasteners such as Velcro.RTM., wherein the hook material is molded of a co-polymer and the loop material is a fabric of polyester fiber having a napped surface are currently being utilized in the industry. However, one problem inherent with such hook and loop fastening systems is their limited resistance to peel and/or shear forces which naturally result due to differential movements of the wearer. Yet another problem commonly associated with hook and loop fastening systems is that a portion of the loop material fabric tends to tear away each time the tab of hook material is peeled away.
While the above-mentioned hook and loop mechanical fastening systems offer some advantages over the earlier known adhesive fasteners, they tend to still fall short of fulfilling the overall need for providing a highly-reliable fastening mechanism for disposable products. More particularly, such systems fail to address the need for maintaining secure placement of the disposable article in view of the anticipated differential movements (i.e., bending, twisting, etc.), re-adjustments and/or manipulations made by the individual wearing the product.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanical fastening system for disposable absorbent articles having a reinforced landing surface for releasably securing a mechanical fastener thereto.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a reinforced landing surface which will provide augmented securement of the mechanical fasteners upon differential movement, adjustment or manipulation by the individual wearing the product.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a reinforced landing surface which will limit, and preferably, eliminate tearing thereof upon peeling away the previously attached mechanical fastener.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced landing surface which is soft and resilient for improved tactile aesthetics, and yet provides a rigid anchoring site for releasably retaining a mechanical fastener.
These and other advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.